Designing a Citizen-Centered Service Strategy for the State of TN

The Project: Led discovery & service design for a state agency to address fragmented digital services and improve how citizens access critical government resources.

The Challenge: With a rapidly growing population and increased demand for accessible services, the agency needed a forward-thinking digital strategy that balanced innovation with accessibility, trust, and inclusivity, one that could guide long-term transformation while addressing immediate user frustrations.

My Role: I led end-to-end discovery, combining citizen research and stakeholder engagement to uncover systemic gaps and define a cohesive, citizen-centered service strategy. By centering the voices of everyday citizens, our team didn’t just create a digital strategy, we helped a state agency reimagine what accessible, citizen-first service can truly look like.

Our Approach:

• Conducted a diary study with 15 citizens to understand real-world service interactions

• Facilitated stakeholder interviews to uncover operational, policy, and system constraints

• Led synthesis sessions (Mural) to translate research into insights, problem statements, and opportunity areas

• Facilitated a strategy workshop with state leadership to align on findings and co-create a future-state vision

Deliverables

• Citizen-centered service vision and design principles

• 6 service concepts

• Phased roadmap (18–24 months) balancing quick wins and long-term transformation